Improvement in floor-clamps



ZSheets--Sheetlf H. J. 0. REED.

Floor-Clamps. No. 144,140. Patented oct. 28,1873.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. o. REED, or SALEM, MASSAoEUsETTs.

IMPROVEMENT IN FLOOR-CLAMPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,140, dated October-28,1873; application iled August 30, 1873.

To all 'whom' it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. O. REED, of Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Floor- Clamps; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of a side view of my clamp or iloor-board set. Fig. 2 is a top view of same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of same, showing its application.

This invention relates to an improvement in carpenters clamps or sets for pressing floorboards together, so as to make close joints,and then holding the boards firmly in place while :i Vtiling them to the joists, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the head or bearing portion of the clamp, which has strongly framed into it two strong bars, B B, that are halved and secured together at their extremities, so as to mutually brace each other, and afford a substantial arm to the clampinghead A. On opposite sides of the arm B B are bolted strengthening-plates c c, and through these plates as well as through the arm a strong pin, O, is passed transversely, and rigidly secured in place, so as to extend a short distance `ieyond each side of the arm, as shown in Fig. 5. This is the pivot-pin, about which the clampmead is moved while setting up the flooring- L wards. The arm B B is secured to the clamphcad, nearest that end of it marked a. The edge b of the clamp-head is curved, as represented in Fig. l, which curve is eccentric to the pivot-pin C, but is not a true arc of a cir cle. This head is therefore a convex wedge, and when its edge b, near the end af, is adjusted against the edge of a iiooring-board, or, which is preferable, against the edge of a board which is interposed between it and a laid-down flooring-board, and one end of the pivot-pin is inserted into a hole made into a joist, the iiooring-board or boards, as the case may be, can be set up closely by striking repeatedly on the end of the head lettered a. After the boards are set up closely they are held in this position, driving a pointed retainer, D, into the joists. This retainer is pivoted to the back edge of the clamping-head, near the end a, and it has two points, it', either of which can be used, according to which side of the clamp is uppermost. The ends a a of the clamp -head are shod with metal, to prevent their being bruised by the blows of the hammer.

The clamp s reversible-that is to say, it can be used either side up.

What I claim as` new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The floor-board set, consisting of the clamping-head A, bars B B, strengthening-plates c e with pivot-pin C, and the pivoted reversible retainer D, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in. the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY JACKSON OLIVER REED.

Witnesses STEPHEN P. WVEBB, WEBSTER F. PUTNAM. 

